In 2009, Chien-Ming Wang had received shoulder surgery that would keep him out of baseball for two years, and had just lost his contract with the Yankees. So he did what any one of us would do—he went to the bar a lot, and chatted up the cute bartender.

"I was feeling helpless and hopeless during the long hours of rehabilitation every day," Wang said at a press conference at National training camp yesterday, called especially for the Taiwanese media. "At the low ebb of my life, I had this affair."

Wang, who was married in 2003 and has a three-year-old son, admitted to having an affair with the Taiwanese-American woman that lasted eight months, before he "took the initiative to end it due to the scourge of deep sense of guilt." But the woman threatened to go public with their relationship, Wang says, and he was forced to continue it until early last year.

"I committed a big mistake two years ago. I dare not even ask for forgiveness to my family members and fans who have loved and supported me," Wang's prepared statement read. "Due to my one-time weakness, I've hurt my wife, family members and the third party, and I can't find words to describe my indebtedness to them. The forgiveness and support shown by my wife and family have made me feel even more shame."